Microbes compete for nutrients, affect metabolism, development in mice
"Gut bacteria get to use a lot of our food before we do," says Federico Rey, a professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Then we get their leftovers -- or their waste. The problem, says Rey, is that if our microbiome overindulges, we might not have access to the nutrients we need. That's the suggestion from new research conducted by Rey's group that shows mice that harbor high levels of microbes that eat choline are deprived of this essential nutrient. Compared to mice without choline-hungry bacteria, the choline-starved mice had an increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases and gave birth to pups with biochemical alterations in the brain and that exhibited more anxious behaviors. The study is published this week (Aug. 24) in Cell Host & Microbe . UW-Madison Professor of Bacteriology Daniel Amador-Noguez and researchers from Harvard University also contributed to the work. Epigenetic regulation -- the decorating of genes with chemic